The Pacifier

Ever since Arnold Schwarzenegger made it
safe for action stars to poke fun at
themselves, it's become a rite of passage for
Hollywood's muscle-heads (or just plain
Hollywood muscle) to go the family film route,
which usually means tangling with a gaggle
of rambunctious kids in some kind of
moralistic fable that has everyone learning
valuable lessons from everyone. Having
already gone the distance with generic action
fare, it makes good sense for Vin Diesel to
show a lighter side in something like "The
Pacifier," an amiable, mostly formulaic effort
that should adequately fill the pre-summer
family film void.

Diesel plays Shane Wolfe, a tough-as-nails
Navy SEAL who lands the assignment to
protect the four children of an assassinated
scientist while the scientist's widow (Faith
Ford) heads to Switzerland to retrieve the
codes that will hopefully unlock her husband's
work. Meanwhile, Wolfe must be both
bodyguard and nanny, struggling to control the
undisciplined urchins while fending off the
threat of international terrorists and ninjas.
Diesel plays it mostly straight, taking his cues
from Schwarzenegger's "Kindergarten Cop"
approach, even though the story is more
similar to the Hulk Hogan yawner "Mr. Nanny."
Though there's nothing here that audiences
haven't seen a thousand times before, Diesel
and costars Lauren Graham (as the fetching
school principal) and Brad Garrett (as a cocky
wrestling coach and vice principal) keep even
the stiffer moments loose and lively. The three
eldest children -- Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot
and Morgan York -- are also quite good,
lending welcome believability to their generic
pubescent and teenage struggles.

Director Adam Shankman ("Bringing Down the
House") is as workmanlike here as he has
been in his previous work, which is to say that
he plays it mostly safe, avoiding the kinds of
risks that might cause the film to either
flounder or fly. As a result, neither Diesel nor
the kids ever really get the best of each other --
but each gets in enough good licks to fill a
mostly lull-free 90 minutes. And for a March
release, that's as much as audiences really
have any right to expect.
Starring Vin Diesel, Lauren
Graham, Faith Ford, Carol Kane, Brad Garrett,
Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot and Morgan York.
Directed by Adam Shankman. Written by
Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant.
Produced by Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber
and Jonathan Glickman. A Buena Vista
release. Family/Comedy. Rated PG for action
violence, language and rude humor. Running
time: 91 min